CVS Health’s Aetna donates $100K to Safer Foundation
Aetna Better Health of Illinois, a CVS Health company, announced that Aetna provided Safer Foundation with a community investment of $100,000 to help place unhoused Chicago families into homes.
To date, the community investment from Aetna has enabled Safer Foundation to place 13 families — 22 people total — into homes in Cook County.
Offering reentry support to previously incarcerated individuals, Safer Foundation helps connect justice-involved individuals with stabilizing support, employment, education and advocacy. The $100,000 investment from Aetna helps further that support with housing stability.
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The housing units are helping people who are reentering society by reconnecting them with their families and giving them some peace of mind. Partnering with organizations like Safer Foundation, which has a proven track record of serving the most vulnerable individuals, helps Aetna build healthier communities, the group said.
“Justice-involved community members often carry a heavy burden of finding adequate housing. Secure, stable and affordable housing is the foundation for a healthy way of life and a sense of well-being,” said Rushil Desai, CEO of Aetna Better Health of Illinois. “We’re excited to help Safer Foundation get even more families into homes and will continuously go the extra mile to support federal and local initiatives meant to remove barriers for all.”
“The investment from Aetna has helped us up the ante when it comes to the support we provide,” said Anthony Lowery, associate vice president of Reentry Housing Services, Safer Foundation. “Because of these additional funds, we’ve been able to provide housing to many families in need, and as more housing becomes available, we’ll be able to place even more. In addition, our partnership with Aetna lays the foundation for us to expand into the Cook County Affordable Home Opportunities partnership, where we plan to extend opportunities to housing to those that need it most.”
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Aetna has awarded more than $800,000 in community investments to support various Illinois-based organizations that assist Medicaid members with access to healthy food, job development, housing support, maternal and child health and access to care.
Aetna Better Health of Illinois serves more than 397,000 Medicaid members in 102 counties. The health plan offers value-added benefits and best practices that have proven positive results in utilization, health gap closures and member satisfaction.